The Peanut Gallery
by PatonxJulia
Summary: A collection of Charlie bone shorts. They're not really connected unless it says so. Lots of pairings, but I don't put one person with more than one pair.
1. A Flower to Bloom

Pairing: FidelioxOlivia

Name: A Flower needs Time to Grow

Fidelio waited. He had always waited. Even when she had been enchanted, he had waited. Sometimes he thought that he waited in vain, but then some small sign would come forth, telling him that it would all be worth it.

He would stand in the background, watching her flounce about, applauding at every one of her performances, melting when she laughed. It seemed that if she never laughed again, he would never be alive, truly alive.

On her off days he would quietly ask her what was wrong, and if he could help he did. He comforted her when she was down, and always found a way to pull her back up. Quite a few times he had considered just asking her out right then and there, but then he would remember that she was as delicate as a flower, and needed time to grow. This thought always held him back.

Yes, she was his flower, and he would patiently wait for her to bloom. Because when she did, his waiting would be over. They would be happy together, just him and his precious, amazing, glorious, flower.


	2. A Golden Hummingbird

Pairing: TancredxEmma

Name: A Golden Hummingbird

Tancred and Emma were laying on the grass in a meadow beside town that Tancred had discovered. They were watching the birds and clouds and discussing things long past, as well as things to come. Emma would comment on a bird she found beautiful, and Tancred would agree, silently thinking to himself that none of the birds circling them were as beautiful as her.

A hummingbird flew past. As it caught Emma's eye, she gasped. The hummingbird was pure gold. Tancred smiled. The look on her face, it was all very pretty.

When the couple went to Bone's the next day, Tancred went straight to and asked permission to stay in the art room after hours, working on a project that he had specially in mind. The amiable headmaster agreed to let Tancred stay, and all that week one could find the storm bringer chipping away at a block of wood.

When Friday came, Tancred asked Emma to come to the meadow the next day. He could hardly wait to show her what he had made. The next day they met in the meadow, Tancred carrying a small gift bag.

They sat down and Tancred started to talk.

" Emma, you know how you were pointing out birds that you thought were beautiful, last time we were here? Well, I want you to know, you are more beautiful than all of them put together" She beamed.

" I also noticed that there was one that interested you more than the others. It kind of seemed like what you would be like, if you chose to be that kind of bird. So I made you something, to remind you that I think you're beautiful, in whatever form you chose." He pulled out the gift bag and gave it to her.

Emma was filled with curiosity. She reached into the bag and pulled out a small item wrapped in tissue paper. The paper fell away to reveal the gold hummingbird. But, wait, it wasn't the hummingbird, it was it's perfect likeness. It took Emma's breath away.

" Oh, Tancred" was all she could manage. He smiled and hugged her. He was lucky to have her, his own golden hummingbird.


	3. Not So Bad

Pairing: Gabriel

Name: Not so Bad

Gabriel walked down the street towards the pets café. He was contemplating the fact that almost everyone ( Except Charlie and Billy, and that wasn't a big surprise) was going out with someone. He was the odd one, the single man, the bachelor.

Gabriel was thinking that there must be something wrong with him. Why wasn't he with someone? It wasn't that he was incapable of dating, it was simply that none of the girls had caught his eye.

He looked into a shop window next to him and saw, in the reflection, a couple kissing across the street. He grimaced, thinking about the fact that he had never kissed anyone.

The next couple he saw was sitting on a bench. They were talking to one another, being all lovey dovey. Gabriel was about to continue on his way when he heard the woman gasp. He turned around to see her slap the man across the face and say " How dare you!"

Then again, he thought, maybe being single wasn't so bad.


	4. Midnight Picnic

Pairing: PatonxJulia

Name: Midnight Picnic

Julia Ingledew was sitting in her little bookshop, sipping on a cup of tea, thinking about a certain man. She couldn't get him out of her mind. Not to say that she found it uncomfortable to think about him. She actually quite enjoyed it.

"I'm going out to dinner with Tancred, auntie. I should be back before nine." Emma was always going out with Tancred. Julia thought that it was healthy for Emma, so she didn't mind. But, she got lonely sometimes.

The bells over the door tinkled as Emma left. Julia sighed and took her cup back to the kitchen. She heard a knock on the door and went to open it. Her heart raced when she found Paton the power booster standing there.

"Hello Julia" He said in that low, calm voice of his. Julia practically swooned right there.

"Hello Paton. I'll just light the candles shall I?" She ran and extinguished the lights. She then lit the numerous candles she had acquired since she had met Paton.

Paton came in and Julia noticed for the first time that he was carrying a basket. He went into the living room and spread out a blanket, then took his basket and started unloading it.

"Paton? What is this?" Julia asked, surprised. Paton smiled at her and brought out the numerous dishes he had brought.

"Just thought we could have a little midnight picnic." Julia smiled and sat down. Paton put out some roast pheasant and they started to eat. Julia found herself enjoying his company more and more. She laughed as she had not laughed in months.

"Julia, I was wondering… Well, it's nothing really, but…. I know a nice spot by the beach, and I was wondering if you would like to take a trip there, just for a day. It would be marvelous at this time of year."

Julia was overjoyed at the prospect. Then she thought about Emma and her face fell a little.

"Emma and Tancred can come too" Paton said hurriedly, as he had meant to say it before, but had forgotten. Julia lightened immediately. Paton smiled and took that to mean yes.

"I can pick you all up at nine tomorrow, if you want me to" Of course Julia wanted it. She wanted to be with him more than anything.


	5. All Was Good

Pairing: Billy

Name: All was good.

Billy was the happiest eight year old in the entire city. He was part of a family. He never ceased to wonder at the fact. Why would anyone want to adopt him? But it had happened.

Billy now had his own room. It was filled with toys, and he had every toy train imaginable to man.

Rembrandt had his own little alcove of Billy's room. It was kept padded and cleaned especially for him. He even had his own maze, which never failed to keep him occupied.

Every Sunday Billy and Charlie would go to the pets café, to enjoy time with their friends. Billy would always order Rembrandts favorite snack, and then sample something different for himself each time.

Billy now had many friends at Bone's. It had become a much friendlier place since Charlie's dad had taken charge.

One of Billy's friends was with him in all of his classes. They were one of Billy's favorite friends. They played with him, loved Rembrandt, helped him with his studies, wasn't afraid of a ball, and came over to Billy's house all the time. She even played video games with him!

Yes, all was good in Billy's life. All was good.


	6. Why couldn't it be me?

Pairing: CharliexMatilda

Name: Why couldn't it be me

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

Charlie had just turned sixteen. His dad had gotten him a car, and his mom had gotten him a watch and the keys to the car. All of his friends had been there. All of them, except one.

Charlie looked at the mirror, which was sitting on his bed side table. He was supposed to be going to sleep right about now, but he had to at least see her. Talk to her. Tell her his idea.

Charlie had been visiting Matilda a lot lately. He found that he could confide in her, any troubles that he had. He also found that her birthday was next week. He had already gotten her a present, a beautiful necklace, but he had thought about it all the different ways. And he knew that when she turned sixteen, she would be whisked away by a duke of a different land.

Thinking it through, Charlie decided that she would be sixteen very soon, and he already was sixteen. He was from a faraway land. Technically he was sort of a duke, since his family owned Bone's, which was almost half the town in and of itself. So why couldn't it be him?

Why couldn't it be him that would whisk Matilda off her feet, bring her here, and show her what his world was like? Why couldn't he be the one she loved? _Why couldn't it be me?_


	7. I Trust You

Name: I trust you

Pairing: Olivia and Fidelio

Many horror stories start on a dark and stormy night. Fidelio's started in the middle of the day, when Olivia, whom he would do practically anything for(which she knew full well, and took quite a lot of advantage out of), dragged him into the beauty parlor.

" Olivia, I am NOT getting a haircut." Olivia laughed that tinkling laugh of hers, and for a second, Fidelio melted. But only for a second.

" Well, if you insist. I wasn't going to give _you_ a haircut in the first place. _ME,_ on the other hand…." She trailed off as something sparkly caught her eye.

It had been a while since the defeat of Count Harken, and Olivia's hair had grown out till it was far below her waist. She had decided that she was tired of it getting in the way, and that it was time for a make over. But she wasn't the one choosing her new look. Oh no, for that she had dragged in her boyfriend, who was vehemently against any change at all.

" You look _perfect_ the way you are!" He had protested, even as she dragged him into the car. She had simply laughed, which was enough to get him here. His sudden worries of her changing _him_ had only come about two minutes ago, when the magical effect of the laugh had worn off.

So here he was, sitting in one of the chairs in the beauty salon, hiding his face from the outside, trying to retain what pride he had left. All the sudden something caught his eye.

When Olivia came back from talking to the receptionist, she found Fidelio flipping avidly through a book of hairstyles. She even heard him mutter quietly,

" Oh no, definitely not that one. Ooh, that one's pretty. Maybe." Olivia suppressed a giggle. She went over and sat down next to Fidelio, looking at the book over his shoulder, listening to the comments he made. She had to say, he was pretty good at this.

He noticed her looking and shooed her away.

" If your going to let me do this, than it's going to be a complete surprise for you." She scowled, but walked back across the shop to look at hair dies.

Finally Fidelio said that he was ready. Olivia jumped into one of the chairs and one of the stylists came over. When Fidelio showed her what he wanted, she simply nodded and said he had extremely good taste.

Fidelio made her cover her eyes with her hands. He didn't want her seeing this until it was done. She unwillingly obliged. It seemed to take the stylist _ages_ to finish. When she was finally allowed to open her eyes, she gasped at what she saw.

Olivia's hair had been cut to where it hung at shoulder level. It was fluffed out to create a fan. **A/N: OK, the only way to accurately describe this is to make a reference. Think Alice, from Twilight. She's the only person I know who has this style.**

Fidelio had decided to dye it too. It was temporary, but it look amazing. It was a dirty blonde with teal streaks through it. It looked awesome.

" Oh my gosh, Fidelio!" She squealed, and jumped on him. He looked surprised as first, and then settled into the hug.

" You look great!" He said, and she broke away from him smiling. He grinned at her expression, and kept grinning the entire time the stylist explained how to get it to fluff the way it did.

When they finally walked out of the salon, Fidelio turned to Olivia.

" Just one question. How did you know I wouldn't make an absolutely horrible choice?" He inquired, wanting to know. She smiled up at him, for he had grown quite a lot taller than her.

" I didn't." She said simply. " But I trust you." Fidelio smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. They walked toward Fidelio's car, content.


	8. The Beach, Part One

Pairing: Tancred & Emma, Paton & Julia

Name: The Beach Part One

Authors Note: Just to put this in, this story is based off of one of my earlier ones, but I changed this up a bit. Paton and Julia are married, and they don't go to the cabin, they go camping. Other than that, it's the same.

Emma's head rested on Tancred's shoulder. They were in the backseat of Paton's Bentley, and had been on the road for hours now. In the front seat were Paton and Julia, who were chatting amiably. They had decided to leave for the beach very early in the morning. It was, right now, three AM, and Emma had practically fallen asleep the second she had gotten in the car. Right now she was in that state where she was aware of what was going on around her, but was dead to the world.

Tancred was looking out the window, channeling all the excess wind he was creating so that it went outside the car. The seashore could expect a few blustery days.

The car finally stopped. By now it was almost nine in the morning, and Emma was still completely asleep on Tancred's shoulder.

"Em', we're here" he said quietly, gently squeezing her hand. Her eyes slowly drifted open, and for a moment Tancred just sat, intoxicated by her beauty. She smiled, and he shook himself out of it, though it wasn't easy.

They slid out of the car, and for a few minutes Emma busied herself with fixing her hair, which had become a little bit messy during the car ride. Tancred helped Paton unload the bags. They had decided to camp on the beach, since it was secluded, and there was little chance of anyone disturbing them. They didn't have to worry about the weather, seeing as they had Tancred with them.

They all walked down the path to the beach. It was still very early in the morning. The men went to work right away setting up the tents. They had three. The largest was for Paton and Julia. Then there were two medium sized tents for Emma and Tancred. Over all a good set up.

Soon after the tents were all set up, Julia announced that she was going swimming. Everyone agreed that they wanted to join her, and quickly slipped inside their tents to change.

About a minute later Tancred stepped out of his tent. He was wearing dark green swim trunks. He looked around him, and saw that Paton was sitting on one of the lawn chairs. He was wearing black swim trunks.

" Women, Tancred, always require about five times more time then men do." Paton said, just as Julia walked out. She just chuckled, but Paton looked like a toddler who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Julia looked resplendent in her red one piece. It was a simple style, but was very becoming of her. Paton stood up, bent down and kissed her. Tancred blushed, and turned back towards his tent, feeling like he had just intruded on an intement moment.

Just as Tancred turned, Emma came out of her tent. Tancred stood and gaped. Emma was wearing a sky blue swimsuit that was shot through with green. It was extremely flattering on her.

" Well are you just going to stand and stare all day, or are you going to get in the water?" Emma asked him, smirking as she did so. Tancred grinned manically.

He swooped on Emma picking her up bridal style and running towards the water. Despite her shrieks of protest, when he was far enough in, he dropped her, getting her completely soaked.

Tancred laughed, until he felt something brush against his leg. The next thing he knew, his feet were yanked out from under him, and he had joined Emma in the water. They both came up laughing.


End file.
